Boom nose assembly



July 28, 1970 E. c. GARDENHOUR BOOM NOSE ASSEMBLY Filed May a, 1968 INVENTOR EUGENE 6. GARDE/VHOU/i I Arr ERNEYS Ivy-1.

wv Ev N ash United States Patent 3,521,759 BOOM NOSE ASSEMBLY Eugene C. Gardenhour, Waynesboro, Pa., assignor to Grove Manufacturing Company, Shady Grove, Pa., a corporation of Pennsylvania Filed May 6, 1968, Ser. No. 726,725 Int. Cl. A47f 5/02 US. Cl. 212-144 1 Claim ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A crane boom nose assembly for supporting simultaneously and without cable interference, a hook assembly and a jib including a housing secured to the end of the boom, a shaft through said housing having end portions projecting outwardly beyond the sides of the housing, a sheave in the housing mounted on the shaft for rotation 'with respect to the housing, a cable supported by the sheave for adjustably supporting the hook assembly, and a jib having its pivot end supported on the shaft projections.

The invention relates to a boom nose assembly and more particularly relates to a boom nose assembly for supporting a hook assembly and a jib without cable interference.

It is known to mount a jib on a boom nose assembly in order to increase the length of the boom beyond its designated length when in the fully extended position. Heretofore, the inner end of the jib has been mounted on a transverse shaft in the lowermost portion of the nose assembly. When the shaft is so located, it supports the jib when in the operative position as well as when it is in the inoperative position underneath and parallel to the boom. The advantage of a single support for the jib in both the operative and inoperative stored positions is significant.

It is a primary object of this invention to provide a boom nose assembly which supports a hook assembly and a jib in a manner to reduce cable interference during normal hoisting operations and more specifically it is an object of this invention to provide a boom nose assembly having a single shaft means for supporting both the jib boom and the boom head sheave.

A further object of the invention is to provide a common shaft mounting both a sheave and a jib and having supporting means acting not only to support the shaft bu also to guide the sheave and locate the jib.

A yet further object of the invention is to eliminate dual shaft arrangements by providing supporting means for a common shaft mounting both a sheave and a jib including boom nose side plates, a pair of opposed guide members secured to the inner faces of the plates and spaced apart to position the sheave therebetween and a pair of collars passing through the guide members and side plates and extending beyond the outer face of the plates to position the jib outwardly therefrom.

These and other objects of the invention will become more apparent to those skilled in the art by reference to the following detailed description when viewed in light of the accompanying drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a side elevational view of the boom nose assembly and the associated boom structure; and

FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken along the line 22 in FIG. 1.

Referring now to the drawings wherein like numerals indicate like parts, the numeral indicates a boom nose assembly located at the outermost end of a telescopically extensible crane boom 12. As is conventional, a hoisting cable 14 extending from a drum at the base of boom 12 passes over a pilot sheave 16, and thence to a ice main sheave 18 each of which is supported in the nose assembly. The terminal end of the cable is secured to the boom 12 at a connection lug 20. A book block assembly 22 is suspended from that portion of the cable extending between the sheave 18 and the terminal end.

The nose assembly '10 includes a housing 21 comprised of a pair of parallel plates 24 and 25 spaced apart by suitable gusset members, only one of which is shown at 26. The pilot or guide sheave 16 is located in the upper portion of the housing above the gusset member 26 and is rotatably mounted on a transverse shaft 28 which is secured at its ends to the plates 24 and 25. Below the gusset 26, a pair of aligned openings 34 are provided in the plates 24 and 25 and as can be seen in FIG. 2, a

second shaft 3-8 passes therethrough. The shaft 38 has end projections 42 and 43 which extend beyond the side plates and a central portion 47 about which the main sheave 18 is rotatably supported. The end projections are respectively provided at their extremities with locking bolts 44 and 45.

A pair of retaining hubelements 50 and 51 are secured as by welding, in an opposed relation to the inner faces of their respective plates. The hubs are cup-shaped and formed with central openings 56 in axial alignment with the plate openings 34 and serve as additional support for shaft 38 as well as to guide and retain the rotatable sheave 18 in a central position within the housing.

Extending outwardly from hubs 50 and '51 are sleeves 36 and 37. The collars are received about the shaft and extend through the opening 34. The shaft 38 and the sleeves are afiixed together by screws 40 and 41. By extending outwardly from the outer faces of the plates 24 and 25, the ends of the sleeve maintain the bifurcated ends 46 of the jib out of contact with the side plates. This prevents vibratory or other frictional 'Wear therebetween. As seen in FIG. 1, the jib boom is stowable in an inoperative nested position underneath the crane boom 12. The jib boom is pivotable to an operative position outwardly and upwardly from the crane boom in the manner well known to the art.

With the sleeves 36 and 37 extending from a position of close proximity to the sheave 18 to a position of close proximity to the jib boom end 46, maximum support is rendered to the shaft 38 at all times. This is true whether the sheave 18 be a load carrying member as is the case when the jib is not used and a great load is transmitted to the center of the shaft or whether the jib be a load carrying member as is the case when it is used and a great load is transmitted to the ends of the shaft.

In any event, not only has the present construction provided an ideal supporting arrangement but the problem of cable interference found in the separate jib shafts of the prior art has been solved. No longer does the constantly working boom with its many and shifting telescopic and elevational movements expose its expensive cable to unwanted wear against an intruder shaft.

In a general manner, while there has been disclosed effective and efficient embodiments of the invention, it should be well understood that the invention is not limited to such embodiments, as there might be changes made in the arrangement, disposition, and form of the parts without departing from the principle of the present invention as comprehended within the scope of the accompanying claim.

I claim:

1. A boom nose assembly of a type having a housing including first and second spaced vertical side plates, a guide sheave rotatably disposed in the upper end of said housing, a main sheave disposed below said guide sheave, a hoisting cable extending over said guide sheave about said main sheave and having its extremity aifixed to said assembly, a bifurcated jib having first and second ends pivotably secured to said assembly and having a stored position nested against the boom and an in-use position Where the jib is disposed generally outwardly along the longitudinal axis of the boom wherein the improvement resides in the means for supporting said main shaft and said bifurcated end comprising a shaft supported by said housing and about Which said main sheave is mounted, first and second projections comprising extensions of said shaft on the outer sides of said boom along the axis of said shaft, said first and second projections each pivotably receiving one of the ends of said bifurcated jib, and means for centrally locating said sheave Within said housing and for spacing said jib ends from the side Walls of References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,920,370 8/1933 Forsythe 21255 3,043,394 7/1962 Hall 212-144 3,154,199 10/1964 Balogh 212144 3,366,250 1/1968 Grove 212-144 said housing, said means comprising first and second HARVEY C HORNSBY Primary Examiner 

